Here’s Why You Should Take Up Gardening As A Hobby

If you have been making the switch to organic non GMO foods, minimizing waste, reducing toxic chemicals in your home, and in the food that you eat, then you might be considering starting your own garden in order to have more control with knowing how your food was grown and not to mention save money on produce.

There are so many benefits to growing your own food, the number one reason being that you can easily grow organic non GMO produce and not have to worry about your food being grown with GMO seeds, pesticides, or being cross contaminated with pesticides during transit. Even though the organic food at your local grocery store might not be grown with toxic pesticides, there are still some organic farmers that do use approved natural pesticides, so growing your own food allows you to know exactly what is going into and on your food as well as being part of the entire process from seed to table.

Gardening is a great way to get more movement in throughout the day which in turn burns more calories. What you put in your body is important, but moving your body is as well, so gardening is a great way to do both. Depending on the type and size of garden you grow, the intensity will differ, but it’s a great activity for nearly all ages. Whether the goal is to increase your NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis), weight loss, or maintaining where you are at while being able to live a healthier lifestyle, every bit of movement counts.

Another great benefit of gardening is the mental health aspect of being outside and working with nature. Being outside is a great way to soak up some vitamin D which has been closely linked to energy levels and reducing depression by playing an important role in serotonin and melatonin regulation that also impacts sleep. This can be such an amazing way to reconnect with nature and lower stress improving overall mental health and self worth. Studies have shown that people with depression who participated in gardening for 12 weeks, significantly improved their depression symptoms and those improvements lasted months after the study was complete. Research has shown how gardening can positively impact cortisol levels within the body making gardening a wonderful option for not only improving physical health, but mental health as well.